Summary Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze is hesitant to sign a new contract and is considering other potential suitors for his future. Eze was a standout performer for Palace last season, contributing with goals, assists, and impressive stats. With the departure of key players like Wilfried Zaha and uncertainty surrounding Michael Olise, keeping Eze at the club is crucial for Palace's success next season.
Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze is "not particularly keen on signing" the new contract he has been offered at the club as he considers his future with other potential "suitors", claims journalist Alex Crook.
Is Eberechi Eze leaving Crystal Palace?
It has been a bit of a mixed transfer window for Palace so far this summer.
While they have signed the capable Jefferson Lerma from Premier League rivals Bournemouth on a free and look set to secure the signature of the highly-rated and highly sought-after Brazilian youngster Matheus Franca for around £26m, they have also lost their most important player – Wilfried Zaha.
Their talismanic winger and club legend left this summer after his contract expired, and with his goal to play Champions League football before he retires, he joined Turkish giants Galatasaray.
Things could also get worse for the Eagles, with The Guardian reporting that both Manchester City and Chelsea are 'considering' whether or not to make a 'formal bid' for their dynamic French winger Michael Olise.
And to top it all off, and make life even harder for Roy Hodgson next season, the brilliant Eze could soon be set to leave Selhurst Park as he is reportedly not "keen" on signing a new deal that he has been offered, per Alex Crook.
He explained the situation live on TalkSport, which was later posted to their YouTube channel:
"Interesting though, it was suggested to me – I've not ran this story yet I was going to do it in my notebook later in the week – that there's a contract offer on the table for Eze, but he's not particularly keen on signing it at this moment in time so that could be another player that maybe really has suitors."
How good was Eberechi Eze last season?
In a year in which Palace struggled to find the back of the net for long stretches, Eze was absolutely fantastic and one of the few bright sparks in an otherwise dull campaign for the Eagles.
In his 30 Premier League starts, the 25-year-old scored ten goals, provided four assists, maintained a passing accuracy of 82.6%, and won four Man-of-the-Match awards, all while maintaining a seriously impressive match rating of 7.02, per WhoScored.
With the former Queens Park Rangers star producing a goal contribution every 188 minutes – almost one every other game – it's hardly surprising to see that his underlying numbers are also incredible, suggesting he could replicate his form at a bigger club.
According to FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the "magic" midfielder sits in the top 1% for non-penalty goals and successful take-ons, the top 2% for total shots, the top 5% non-penalty expected goals, the top 6% for shot-creating actions, and the top 7% for touches in the oppositions penalty area, all per 90.
He clearly left an impression on former boss Patrick Viera, who described the youngster as "different class" following an outstanding performance against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool early last season.
With Zaha already gone and the situation around Olise still up in the air, Palace need to do all they can to keep Eze in south London, as should he leave as well, they could be in big trouble come next season.
